The present invention relates to the manufacture and end product of rolling paper used for creating a cigarette, whether surrounding tobacco leaves, grounds, seeds of tobacco or that of the flowering plant known as cannabis. More specifically, the present invention relates to manufacturing rolling paper infused with the active ingredient of cannabis, cannabinoids, some of which are known to have psychoactive properties. Often delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol of cannabis is drawn or pressed from the cannabis plant and it is often generically referred to as a cannabinoid. It seems desirable to provide rolling paper for forming into a cigarette shape with a precise, controlled, uniform and dispersed quantity of the cannabinoid containing concentrate. Thus, the present invention relates to a method and the end product for incorporating cannabinoids as an infused component for paper, primarily intended for use as rolling paper for creating new cigarettes of cannabis leaves and/or tobacco. By infusing the active ingredients of cannabis into and during the paper-making process of the rolling papers, superior content uniformity, manufacturing consistency, and unique cannabinoid concentration control is achieved in comparison to other methods of creating rolling paper with cannabinoid brushed upon, sprayed onto or dropped onto the already finished paper products.
The present invention relates to the method of infusing the extracted cannabinoids, itself a type of oil—one of the active ingredient(s) of the cannabis plant, into the pulp and water mixture as the same is made into paper. It is well known that the paper-making process is a water-based process, indeed, it is highly water consuming. Thus, the extracted cannabinoids which are hydrophobic, and without the steps taken in the present invention, would not uniformly mix and be stabilized in the water, is made miscible and are emulsified. According to the steps of the present invention, the cannabinoids are effectively isolated into small particles which are surrounded by an emulsifying agent which allows the cannabinoids to thoroughly mix and be uniformly distributed throughout the paper-making process, even in the presence of large amounts of water.
The present invention relates to the method of using and infusing cannabinoids during the paper-making process i.e. during actual creation of the paper. This results in a finished product which possesses characteristics of non-infused rolling papers with a concentration consistency and uniform distribution of the active ingredients, cannabinoids, drawn from cannabis plants and leaves. The present invention also relates to the final end product of the inventive method as the same provides a highly concentration-controlled and substantially uniform rolling paper for making cylindrical cigarettes, joints, etc. wherein the paper is infused with cannabinoids and still maintains the characteristics of non-infused rolling paper.
There are many differences between the methods of trying to obtain cannabinoid-infused rolling papers, i.e., dipping, spraying or brushing cannabinoid concentrate onto the finished paper sheets, on the one hand, and infusing cannabinoids concentrate into the pulping, sizing, and formation of the web during the paper manufacturing process, on the other hand. Dipping, brushing or spraying, after the rolling papers are made and dried, in order to achieve a quantity of cannabinoid on the outside of the papers, results in an unsightly and non-uniform outer covering of the cannabinoid oil on the paper and does not maintain the same properties of non-infused rolling paper. This can be messy, sticky, look unseemly, and can even provide an unwarranted odor. The cannabinoid containing coating, whether sprayed, the paper cylinder dipped, or cannabinoids brushed on the outside, will not generally provide a uniform concentration of cannabinoid along the length of the individual rolled cylindrical product nor from one to the next.
In contrast, an end product of rolling paper with cannabinoids infused during the paper-making process goes through a calculated methodology to ensure content uniformity and consistency of the cannabinoid concentration, infused throughout the paper itself. The process requires employing polar and non-polar chemical components to bind the active ingredients of cannabis, the cannabinoids, into the formation of paper (on a very basic level, this process consists of creating a paper pulp which includes water, extracted cannabis concentrate and one or more additional emulsifying substances which allow the extracted cannabis, an oil, to remain uniformly dispersed throughout the water-based paper-making process). Then, after mixing of the components and making the paper, it is dried of most of the water so that only the finished paper and cannabinoid extract infused therein remain. This results in far superior content uniformity of cannabinoid concentration and consistency throughout the paper while still maintaining the same properties of non-infused paper. The extracted cannabinoids and/or the emulsifier component can be added in the paper sizing step, in the paper pulping step and/or in the forming of the paper web step, or in two or more of the steps. The cannabinoids, according to the present invention, however, are not added after the formation of the end product of rolling paper.
Another advantage to infusing cannabinoids into the paper during the paper-making process, as opposed to the brushing, dipping or spraying of the cannabinoids composition after paper formation, is that the cannabinoid infused paper will tend to burn more evenly and slower. This is a clear advantage to the consumer. Another advantage is that the cannabinoid-infused paper does not alter the taste of what is being smoked within the cigarette made of the paper, i.e., the cannabis maintains its taste. This is distinct from other dipped or brushed upon papers as they tend to negatively impact on the taste of the cannabis. 
And, the cannabinoid-infused paper won't feel as if it is dipped, sprayed or brushed onto the outside surface of the rolled cigarette or joint, i.e., it will not have sticky finger contact areas. Rather, because of the uniformity of dispersion of the cannabinoids during the paper-making process and the uniformity of the cannabinoid concentration throughout the final dried paper, the rolling papers will feel substantially like non-cannabinoids infused rolling papers.
And, experience seems to evidence that cannabinoid dipped rolling papers are generally not as easy to form into acceptable joints or cigarettes i.e., they are not as easily malleable and formable into small leaf-holding cylinders, whereas the cannabinoids infused into the rolling papers, if the infusion is during the paper-making process will, again because of consistency and uniformity, result in papers that are easier to mold and form into small cylinders.
In addition, it is within the scope of the present invention that the papers themselves actually may be individually edible without the need to roll the same into a cylinder with added grounds, and/or leaf materials. The present invention can be easily used to also make (i.e., in addition to making rolling papers) edible sheets of papers with controlled and uniform concentrations of cannabinoids infused therein. This is clearly superior on many levels to the availability of plain sheets of paper which are after-market sprayed, brushed with or dipped with a cannabinoid containing concentrate.
Again, uniformity and consistency of the papers, infused with cannabinoids during the paper-making process as opposed to spraying, dipping or brushing cannabinoids onto the papers after paper manufacturing is sought. This results in very desired uniformity of concentration from paper to next used or ingested paper. And, using the cannabinoid infusion process of the present invention during the paper-making process allows the manufacture of varying but pre-selected and uniform concentrations of cannabinoids into rolling papers; a highly desirable line of differing cannabinoid concentration products can thus be offered to the public and the consumer can choose which concentration is most desirable for use as rolling papers. Again, this is a direct benefit of the manner of infusing the cannabinoids into the rolling papers during the paper-making process, a process where the concentration and uniformity of the cannabinoid concentration can be precisely controlled.